Chapter 95: Downtime

Chapter 95: Downtime

A/N: Because of course Tony and Pepper were listening in~

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“Wow. Loki really threw you under the bus there.”

Tony’s amused voice has Pepper rolling her eyes, even as she rests her back against her husband’s chest, the two of them relaxing together for a brief moment while also observing Loki’s interaction with Hela. Neither of them had actually sent Loki to the other Princess of Asgard, but they had finally allowed Loki to visit her after the Goddess of Mischief had been needling and demanding it of them ever since she found out who Tony had brought back from his little trip through the Bifrost.

Perhaps she was supposed to be pouting at Loki’s final words to Hela, but in truth... Pepper smirks as she leans her head back and looks at Tony from an upside down position.

“Was she wrong?”Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com

Tony blinks at Pepper’s sass and then barks out a laugh, before finally pushing her forward a little bit so he can move out from behind her. Pepper lets him go with a sigh, sitting back into the inferior replacement that are the pile of pillows he leaves behind. Using technopathy to pull the holographic interface she’d been working on through the air back with her as she scooches, Pepper raises an eyebrow at her husband.

“Was Hela all that wrong either?”

Pepper’s words cause Tony to pause, while the teasing lilt in her voice causes him to grin a little as he looks back her way.

“Of course she was. Odin didn’t ‘gift’ Loki to me, he left her in my custody so we could get her back on the straight and narrow. And Hela is wrong about herself as well. I’m pretty sure the All-Father just saw an opportunity to wash his hands of her and is using me to do it.”

Humming, Pepper raises a brow.

“It’s not as though he’s done much to chastise you for drawing Loki into our bed.”

“Excuse you. I did nothing of the sort. That was all J’s fault. And besides, Loki is her own woman. She can make her own decisions.”

Then, Tony pauses and gives Pepper a joking glare.

“Pep... let’s not seduce the Goddess of Death, yeah? We’ve got enough on our plate as it is right now. This isn’t like Loki either. You and I both saw how quick Hela was to jump from sniping with words to straight up murder. She failed of course, as she would against any of us given how weakened she is with her power stripped from her, but that doesn’t mean she’s safe.”

Pepper just smirks.

“Isn’t it? Or did Loki not jump straight to murder the first time you two met as well?”

It spoke to how far they’d come with the exiled princess that Pepper could even joke about that, to be fair. A few years ago and just watching the security footage of Loki stabbing Tony in his kidneys had seen Pepper’s blood boiling with rage. Even knowing he would get back up again and be perfectly fine didn’t make her happy about it.

Now though... it was water under the bridge, as strange as that felt to say.

“There were extenuating circumstances there, Pep. Loki was literally having the worst week of her life. I’m not going to pretend like that justifies it... but she did apologize, didn’t she?”

That gets another roll of Pepper’s eyes. Sure, Loki had apologized. She also hadn’t really meant it. But they’d let it slide because... well, they had Loki’s measure at this point. She was basically a cat. She slept in their bed, ate their food, acted like they were her pets instead of her keepers, and all around made a nuisance of herself if she felt like she wasn’t getting enough attention.

Even Loki’s earliest attacks on Tony could be likened to a cat hissing and striking out with its claws. Of course, while Pepper and Tony both shared this opinion of Loki, they were also wise enough to never voice it out loud, especially where she might hear it.

“And Hela doesn’t have extenuating circumstances surrounding her? It’s in the title, isn’t it?”

Tony furrows his brow.

“What? Goddess of Death?”

But Pepper shakes her head in the negative.

“Odin’s Executioner. That was one of the things she was called, right?”

When Tony slowly nods, Pepper transmits her meaning directly to him through technopathy. Probably better not to badmouth the All-Father when he or his vaunted Gatekeeper might be watching. Still, there’s context enough to understand what she means.

Hela never really had a chance to live outside of her father’s shadow. She grew up with a warmonger of a father who taught her that all the important things in life involved conquest and killing. It wasn’t enough to just live and be happy, not when others had things you wanted and were living and being happy as well.

“Oh, I’m sure she will, and soon at that. In the end, it’ll only be JARVIS who will truly be able to best her. As a good AI should when it comes to chess, of course.”

Smiling, Pepper just shakes her head.

“Fine. These businessmen and their over-inflated ego are EASIER to handle than beating a child at chess. Better?”

Grinning wider, probably because Justin Hammer is counted among those businessmen, Tony nods his head amicably.

“Oh yes. Much better. And I know you’ll be able to handle whatever they throw at you, Pep. Just be ready when they finally cross the line, because we both know it’s just a matter of time.”

That it is. Pepper grows solemn for a moment, nodding in agreement.

“You know I will be, Tony. Especially with JARVIS watching my back.”

They both feel JARVIS through their mental connection at that. Not so much words, but a feeling of unconditional and eternal support. It wouldn’t even matter if Thanos were to attack the Solar System right as Hammer and his fellow scum suckers were making their move against Pepper. JARVIS would handle both things simultaneously, and a thousand others besides at the same exact time.

“Heh... damn straight. Alright Pep, I’m heading down to check on Helen and FRIDAY. I’ll be back in time for dinner with you and Morgan, yeah?”

“Of course, Tony. See you then.”

With that her husband departs, though Pepper can’t help but smile wickedly. She knows something Tony doesn’t about exactly what Helen wants from him the next time he ‘checks in on her’, heh. The other woman has Pepper’s full blessing, of course. With that, Pepper turns her attention back to her work with a hum.

Fisk was behind bars while Cross was dealing with the growing pains of being a brand new CEO. Meanwhile, Scarborough was barely invested in their little cabal, and far more interested in enriching himself and climbing the ladder ever further at Roxxon. Finally, Ward Meachum wasn’t even truly in charge of Rand Enterprises, for all that he was CEO. His father was still alive and there was a hand up the hidden man’s ass, puppeting him from the shadows and forcing him to instruct his son on the down low.

All in all, while each of the four men still out of prison were making token efforts to try and take Stark Industries down... in truth, Justin’s plans were doomed from the start. Not only was he working with shoddy materials in the form of his own company, but he’d also chosen shoddy allies as well.

The conspiracy of businessmen that Hammer had started could not be anything BUT disappointing, at the end of the day. Mostly because they didn’t even really understand how out of their league they all were. However, once they finally did... once they all finally got a glimpse of just what they were truly up against, Pepper knew they wouldn’t back down.

No, they’d escalate... and when they did, she had no doubt they’d wind up crossing a line there was no coming back from. At which point she would strike and bring them and their little empires crumbling down.

Hm, now there was an idea.

“JARVIS.”

“Yes ma’am?”

“Hela is bound to get bored all cooped up on that floor eventually. When she finally decides enough is enough and demands to be let out, you can let her stew for a little while... but then send her my way, yeah?”

“... Of course, ma’am. Though Sir did seem rather adamant about not seducing the Goddess of Death.”

There’s no reproach in JARVIS’ voice. Only curiosity. Pepper grins up at the ceiling as she leans back in her pile of pillows, eyes roaming across the holographic interface in front of her. She didn’t really need it, but she was a very visual person at the end of the day.

“I’m not planning on seducing Hela to mine and Tony’s bed, JARVIS. I’m planning on showing Odin’s Executioner that there are better, more engaging ways of scratching that itch to conquer something than just going around killing people all day long.”

JARVIS is silently judgmental, and Pepper pauses for a moment before pouting at him.

“I’m talking about conquering in the business world, J! Not sexually! I just said I’m not planning to seduce Hela to my bed, didn’t I?!”

“... Of course, ma’am.”

Pepper huffs. JARVIS was just far too sassy most days.

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A/N: Seriously guys! Neither Pepper nor Tony is trying to seduce Hela! Even Pepper, the true harem protagonist, has no intentions of doing so!

Wonder how that'll work out for her.